Refrigerator and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

Provided is a refrigerator including a cabinet forming one of a refrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment, a main door opening and closing the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment and including a storage space opened forward, a sub door installed on the main door and opening and closing the storage space of the main door, and a dispenser disposed on the sub door and dispensing water.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A refrigerator door, comprising:
 an outer case formed of a metal plate and constituting an exterior of the refrigerator door, the outer case comprising: 
 a front part; 
 a first cut part formed by a cutting portion of the front part at a position that is spaced apart from an upper end of the outer case; and 
 a rounded part formed from the first cut part, wherein both side edge portions of the rounded part are formed in a manner that a portion of the front part is curved to define a recess to receive a container; 
 an upper decor covering the first cut part; and 
 a water dispensing pipe positioned behind the front part of the outer case and extending to pass through the first cut part; 
 wherein the outer case further includes: an installation part that is further recessed from a center of the rounded part and that is configured to receive a manipulation member disposed in the rounded part and configured to be manipulated to dispense water; 
 an installation hole formed in the installation part; and 
 an electronic part installed in the installation hole, wherein the electronic part includes at least one of an LED lighting device or a switch. 
 
     
     
       2. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein a depth of the recess is configured to increase towards a center thereof. 
     
     
       3. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the manipulation member includes one of a button or a lever, and
 wherein the manipulation member is configured to be pressed or touched to be operated. 
 
     
     
       4. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the electronic part includes the LED lighting device and the switch. 
     
     
       5. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the installation part is configured to allow a back-and-forth movement of the manipulation member. 
     
     
       6. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the installation part is configured to allow a rotation of the manipulation member. 
     
     
       7. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , further comprising a water supply passage extending to be connected to the water dispensing pipe. 
     
     
       8. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the water supply passage extends by passing through a hinge of the door. 
     
     
       9. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a second cut part formed by a cutting portion of the outer case at a position that is downwardly apart from the first cut part, the second cut part corresponding to a lower end of the recess; and 
 a lower decor covering the second cut part. 
 
     
     
       10. The refrigerator door according to  claim 9 , wherein a width of the first cut part in a front-to-rear direction of the first cut part is larger than a width of the second cut part in a front-to-rear direction of the second cut part such that the recess is inclined. 
     
     
       11. The refrigerator door according to  claim 10 , wherein the water dispensing pipe is configured to pass through the upper decor and is exposed to the recess to dispense water. 
     
     
       12. The refrigerator door according to  claim 9 , further comprising a water collecting part recessed downward in the lower decor and configured to collect water dropping to the recess. 
     
     
       13. The refrigerator door according to  claim 12 , wherein the lower decor is detachable from the second cut part to enable emptying of collected water from the water collecting part. 
     
     
       14. The refrigerator door according to  claim 9 , wherein the upper decor and the lower decor are each made of a different material than the metal plate and are each coated with a metal texture after injection molding to match an appearance of the metal plate. 
     
     
       15. The refrigerator door according to  claim 9 , wherein the first cut part defines a first opening at an upper edge of the recess, the second cut part defines a second opening at a lower edge of the recess open, and the metal plate defines a rear surface of the recess between the first cut part and the second part, the metal plate defining an integral surface that spans the outer case of the door and the recess of the dispenser. 
     
     
       16. The refrigerator door according to  claim 1 , wherein the recess has a depth corresponding to a diameter of the water dispensing pipe. 
     
     
       17. The refrigerator door according to  claim 16 , wherein the water dispensing pipe is integrally formed with upper decor.